Press Conference Multimedia:
EU's Cecilia Malmström and NZ Trade Minister David Parker on
Launch of NZ/EU Trade Negotiations.
European Union Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and New Zealand's Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker
held a joint press conference on Monday to mark the official launch of negotiations for an NZ/EU trade agreement.
The first round of formal negotiations will take place in Brussels in July, with many issues already identified and New
Zealand aiming to conclude a deal "within a couple of years".
Topics discussed include New Zealand's shared values with Europe and the potential for a deal with mutual benefit and
world-leading protections for labour and the environment, efforts to foster public appreciation for international trade,
pharmaceutical patent terms, Zespri, protected geographical indicators, difficulties around agriculture and EU
agricultural policy, post-Brexit EU tariff rate quotas, trusting each other's rule of law to deal with investment
disputes, a brewing trade war between the United States and China, the state of multilateral trade, and the impending
birth of NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's first child.
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